JP2779377B2 - Ink ribbon cassette - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink ribbon cassette mounted on various printers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an endless ink ribbon has been stored in a meandering state in a ribbon cassette, and this ink ribbon is intermittently sent out to the front of a platen to be printed by a print head of a printer. is there.

There are two types of ink ribbons.
One is commonly called a film ribbon and the other is a fabric ribbon. The film ribbon is formed by using a synthetic resin film as a material and applying an ink to one surface of the film to form an ink layer. The fabric ribbon naturally uses a woven fabric, and the woven fabric is impregnated with a printing ink.

[0004] As a ribbon cassette which can be used for both types of ink ribbons, the invention of the present applicant is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H2-223881. This means that a part of the wall member that defines the downstream end of the storage chamber protrudes downstream, and a first slit for the fabric ribbon is provided at the protruding portion, and a second slit for the film ribbon is provided at the non-protruding portion.
Has opened a slit. On the path of the fabric ribbon on the bottom surface near the upstream side of the first slit, a rib for applying a load to the running of the ribbon and smoothly pulling out the ribbon from the storage room is formed. The second slit is provided at a position deviated from the center in the width direction of the storage chamber so as to prevent the ink layer of the film ribbon from contacting the slit.

[0005]

In the above prior art,
Since the first slit and the second slit are always provided so that the ink ribbon can be inserted into one ribbon cassette, there is a risk that the ink ribbon may be inserted into the wrong slit when the ink ribbon is stored. The ribbon enters the slit in a bent state because the load to be applied is not applied, causing ribbon clogging, or the surface of the ink layer that you do not want to contact comes into contact with the slit or rib, obstructing the passage of the slit Or cause problems.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink ribbon cassette capable of selectively storing a film ribbon and a fabric ribbon as the ink ribbon, and inserting the ink ribbon into only one path corresponding to the type of the stored ink ribbon. The aim is to avoid taking the wrong path when storing film or fabric ribbons.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an ink ribbon cassette according to the present invention comprises a cassette case, a storage chamber for storing an endless ink ribbon in a meandering shape, and an opening through which the ink ribbon is drawn out. And a drawing arm having an opening for drawing the ink ribbon drawn out to the inside. At the downstream end of the storage chamber, a rib capable of contacting the width direction end of the ink ribbon, a wall located downstream of the rib, and a rib extending in a direction orthogonal to the ink ribbon transfer direction. A ribbon path switching member is provided which is positioned alongside the wall and which can be selectively attached to the first mounting posture or the second mounting posture by connecting means by inverting the front and back sides via the connecting means. The ribbon path switching member has a concave portion through which the ink ribbon can be inserted. And
When the ribbon path switching member is mounted in the first mounting position, the ribbon path switching member comes into contact with the wall, and the recess opens above the storage chamber to allow the ink ribbon to pass through the recess. When the ribbon path switching member is mounted in the second mounting position, the concave portion opens to the bottom wall side of the storage room and forms the concave portion as the sole outlet of the ink ribbon from the storage room without passing through the rib. A gap is formed between the ribbon path switching member and the wall, and the gap is formed between the ribbon path switching member and the wall, and the gap is defined as a sole outlet of the ink ribbon from the storage chamber. A ribbon path that passes through the ribbon path as the ink ribbon is selected by selecting the mounting position of the ribbon path switching member. It is characterized in that a film ribbon to pass through the ribbon path which does not pass through the ribbon and ribs was selectively enabled.

[0008] The connecting means may be constituted by a connecting pin protruding from the bottom wall of the storage room and a through-hole formed in the ribbon path switching member so that the connecting pin can be fitted therein.

The bottom wall of the storage compartment may be provided with a recess closing pin which engages with one end of the recess when the ribbon path switching member is mounted in the second mounting position.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

The ink ribbon cassette is formed by fixing a lid (not shown) to a cassette case 1 shown in FIG. A horizontally long storage chamber 2 occupying the right half of the cassette case 1 is formed in the cassette case 1, in which the ink ribbon R is stored in a meandering state. The ink ribbon R includes the film ribbon R1 and the fabric ribbon R2 described above, and FIG. 1 shows the film ribbon R1. On one side (upper side) of both ends of the cassette case 1, a drawer arm 11 and a drawer arm 12 are integrally formed so as to extend in the same direction. Opening 1 through which is drawn out
1a, and an opening 12a for forming the ink ribbon drawn out into the storage chamber 2 is formed in the drawing arm.

Further, the ink ribbon R is inserted into the cassette case 1.
A driving means is provided for feeding the paper from the cassette case and pulling it into the cassette case. The configuration of this driving means is as follows:
Below the right end of the bottom wall of the cassette case 1, a shaft 4 of a ribbon feed roller 3 is rotatably supported while penetrating the bottom wall, and a pressing roller 5 elastically contacts the roller 3. The lower end of the shaft 6 of the pressing roller 5 is fitted in a guide groove (not shown) formed on the bottom surface of the case 1. Further, the upper end of the shaft 6 is supported by a slider 7. The distal end of a pressing spring 8 whose base end is fixed to the case 1 is connected to the slider 7, so that the pressing roller 5 applies a pressing force to the ribbon feed roller 3 to ensure interlocking.
The lower end of the shaft 4 of the ribbon feed roller 3 penetrates the bottom wall of the cassette case 1 as described above, and the rotational driving force from the drive motor is transmitted.

On the upper side wall of the downstream end of the ink ribbon storage chamber 2, there are provided a rib 21 capable of contacting the width direction end of the ink ribbon and a wall 22 located downstream of the rib. is there. Further, in the direction orthogonal to the ink ribbon transfer direction, the rib 21 and the wall portion 22 are arranged so as to be located side by side.
A ribbon path switching member 9 is provided. The ribbon path switching member 9 can be attached to the first mounting posture and the second mounting posture via connecting means by reversing the front and back. The lower wall of the downstream end of the storage chamber 2 has a wall 23 projecting toward the upstream end of the ribbon path switching member 9.
Is provided. Therefore, the downstream end of the storage room 2 is
Wall 22, upstream end of ribbon path switching member 9 and wall 2
3 are defined.

The ribbon path switching member 9 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 mounted in the first mounting position. At the center of the ribbon path switching member 9, through holes 91, 92 constituting a connecting means described later are provided along the longitudinal direction of the storage room 2. Below the through hole, there is provided a concave portion 93 which traverses from the upstream end to the downstream end, opens above the storage chamber, and through which the ink ribbon can be inserted from above. Since the ribbon path switching member 9 is divided into two parts by the recess 93, in order to avoid this, a projection 94 is provided on the back side of the recess.
Is provided to keep the unity.

A projection 95 protrudes downward from the lower side of the downstream end of the ribbon path switching member 9, and as shown in FIG. And a gap 96 is formed to face each other. The ink ribbon can be inserted into the gap from above the storage chamber 2.

A projection 97 protrudes upward from the upper side of the downstream end of the ribbon path switching member 9, and this projection 97 comes into contact with the tip of the wall 22 as shown in FIG. To make it impossible to insert the ink ribbon between the wall and the wall.

Two ribs 98 are provided on the upstream end face of the ribbon path switching member 9 so that the ink ribbon does not adhere to the end face. Further, a click groove 99 is formed on the upstream end surface at a position symmetrical to the recess 93 with the through holes 91 and 92 as centers.

As means for connecting the ribbon path switching member 9 to the cassette case 1, as shown in FIG. 5, connecting pins 13 and 14 are erected from the bottom wall of the cassette case, and the through holes 9 are provided.
1, 92 to be connected. Through hole 9
The reason why 2 is slightly elongated is to cope with an error in the interval between the connecting pins 13 and 14.

In the bottom wall of the cassette case 1, there is formed a recess 15 into which a projection 94 formed on the back surface of the ribbon path switching member 9 is fitted. Further, a recess closing pin 16 protrudes from the bottom wall of the cassette case 1 so as to engage with the upstream end opening of the recess 93 so as to be able to close the same, and engage with the click groove 99 to form a ribbon. The path switching member 9 is positioned.

As shown in FIG. 1, a second partition 17 is provided between the downstream end of the storage chamber 2 and the left side wall of the cassette case 1, and a slit 17a is formed in the second partition 17 as well. is there. A guide pin 18 for a film ribbon R1 is formed on the bottom wall in the room on the left side of the partition wall 17. Above these guide pins, Mobius guides 19a and 19b for the fabric ribbon R2 and guide pins 20 are formed so as to protrude. Then, the ribbon is guided by the corner surface 11b of the extended corner of the pull-out arm 11, and is pulled out from the opening 11a.

The operation of the present invention will now be described.

First, a case where the ink ribbon cassette is used for the film ribbon R1 will be described.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the connecting pins 13 and 14 are fitted into the through holes 91 and 92 with the surface of the ribbon path switching member 9 (the surface on which the concave portion 93 is formed) facing upward. Combine. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
Fits into the recess 15, so that the bottom surface of the recess 93 is continuous with the bottom surface of the storage room 2 at the same level. The recess closing pin 16 is engaged with the click groove 99. Thus, the ribbon path switching member 9 is positioned at three points of the two connecting pins 13 and 14 and the pin 16. When the ribbon path switching member 9 is mounted in this position, the protrusion 97
Extends toward the wall portion 22 and is in contact with the tip of the wall portion 22, so that no gap is formed. That is, in this state,
Only the recess 93 opens at the downstream end of the storage chamber 2 as the sole ribbon outlet.

In this state, the film ribbon R1 continuously continuous endlessly with a predetermined length is traversed in the storage room 2 with the film layer facing upward as shown in FIG.
At the outlet side, the film ribbon R1 is inserted from above the storage chamber 2 so as to traverse the recess 93 from the upstream end to the downstream end, passes through the slit 17a, passes through the guide pin 18 and the corner 11b, and pulls the arm 11 out. From the opening 11a. At the entrance side of the storage room 2, the film ribbon R
1 is passed between the ribbon feed roller 3 and the pressing roller 5 and is wrapped around the pressing roller 5 so that the opening 12
Pull out from a.

Next, when the drive motor is driven, the ribbon feed roller 3 rotates, and the pressing roller 5 rotates in conjunction therewith. Therefore, the film ribbon R1 has an opening 1 for drawing in the ribbon.
From 2a, it passes through the pull-in arm 12, passes between the ribbon feed roller 3 and the pressing roller 5, is drawn into the storage chamber 2, and is stored in a meandering state. FIG. 1 shows a state in which all the ribbons are drawn in and stored in the storage chamber. The film ribbon R1 is stored with the film layer facing upward, and it is not possible that the ribbon is inverted in the ribbon path. Absent. Further, since the rib 21 does not exist in the ribbon path, the ribbon 21 is smoothly pulled out.

When the film ribbon R1 is pulled out of the storage chamber 2 and transported, the ink layer is on the lower surface, so it passes through the slit 17a, is guided by the guide pin 18, passes through the corner surface 11b, and passes through the opening 11a. This ink layer is protected because it does not come into contact when it is pulled out. Then, the drawn ribbon R1
Is guided toward the platen with the ink layer facing the platen (not shown), and is used for printing.

Next, the case where this ink ribbon cassette is used for fabric ribbon R2 will be described.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the ribbon path switching member 9 is mounted in the second mounting position with the front and back turned upside down, and the back surface (the surface on which the projection 94 protrudes) is directed upward. The connecting pins 13 and 14 are
92. As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG.
Reference numeral 3 does not open upward, and is closed by engaging a recess closing pin 16 at its upstream end. In this manner, the ribbon path switching member 9 is positioned at three points of the two connecting pins 13, 14 and the pin 16. Ribbon path switching member 9
When this is attached to the cassette case 1 in this posture, the projection 95 extends toward the wall 22, and a gap 96 is formed facing the tip of the wall 22 at a predetermined gap. That is, in this state, only the gap 96 opens at the downstream end of the storage chamber 2 as the sole ribbon outlet.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 6, the fabric ribbon R2 continuously continuous endlessly with a predetermined length is traversed inside the storage room 2, and the rib 2 is provided at the outlet side of the storage room.
1 and inserted into the gap 96 from above the storage chamber 2, passed through the slit 17a, turned over by the Mobius guides 19a and 19b, and passed through the guide pin 20 and the corner surface 11b. Opening 1 of drawer arm 11
Pull out from 1a. At the entrance side of the storage room, the fabric ribbon R2 is fed to the ribbon feed roller 3 and the pressing roller 5
And is wound around the pressing roller 5 and pulled out from the opening 12 a of the retraction arm 12.

The operation of storing the fabric ribbon R2 in the storage room 2 is the same as that of the film ribbon R1.
It is drawn into the storage room 2 and stored in a meandering state.
FIG. 6 shows a state in which all the ribbons are drawn in and stored in the storage room.
Is a guide 19a, 1 for Mobius in the ribbon path.
It is inverted at 9b.

The rib 21 is present on the way when the fabric ribbon R2 is pulled out of the storage chamber 2 and passes through the gap 96, so that the fabric ribbon R2 passes under a load by this rib 21 and is passed by the load. The fabric ribbon R2 passes smoothly without filling the gap 96. The fabric ribbon R2 coming out of the gap 96 further passes through the slit 17a of the partition wall 17, is inverted by Mobius guides 19a and 19b, is guided by the guide pin 20, passes through the corner surface 11b, and goes out of the opening 11a. It is to be withdrawn. The pulled out fabric ribbon R2 is guided toward the platen and used for printing. A film ribbon and a fabric ribbon can be selectively stored as ink ribbons to reduce costs, and the ink ribbon can be inserted into only one path according to the type of the ink ribbon to be stored. Avoid taking the wrong path when storing the

[0032]

As described above, in the present invention, the ribbon path switching member can be mounted in the first mounting position and the second mounting position by turning over the ribbon path switching member. Accordingly, only one opening is formed at the downstream end of the storage compartment. For this reason, when the ink ribbon to be stored is determined to be either the film ribbon or the fabric ribbon, if the mounting position of the ribbon path switching member is selected and mounted, the ribbon path is uniquely determined, and the path selection is incorrect. And so on.
Therefore, the film ribbon or the fabric ribbon can be transported smoothly and without clogging along the appropriate route, and high quality printing can be performed. Further, since the film ribbon or the fabric ribbon can be selectively stored using the common cassette case and the ribbon path switching member, the cost of parts can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which a film ribbon is stored and a lid is removed.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a main part to which a ribbon path switching member is attached for a film ribbon.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view of a main part illustrating a configuration of a cassette case with a ribbon path switching member removed.

FIG. 6 is a plan view in which a fabric ribbon is stored and a lid is removed.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view of a main part to which a ribbon path switching member is attached for a fabric ribbon.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line DD of FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 cassette case 11 drawer arm 11a opening 12 drawer arm 12a opening 13, 14 connecting means (connecting pin) 16 recess closing pin 2 storage chamber 21 rib 22 wall 9 ribbon path switching member 91, 92 connecting means (through hole) 93 recess 95 protrusion 96 gap 97 protrusion R ink ribbon R1 film ribbon R2 fabric ribbon

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 32/02 B41J 35/04 B41J 35/22

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] An endless ink ribbon is stored in a cassette case in a meandering manner, a storage chamber, a drawer arm having an opening through which the ink ribbon is drawn out, and the ink ribbon drawn out to the inside. In the ink ribbon cassette provided with a retraction arm having an opening for retraction, a rib capable of contacting the width direction end of the ink ribbon is provided at a downstream end of the storage chamber, and a wall located downstream of the rib. And the connecting means selectively positioned in the first mounting posture or the second mounting posture by being positioned alongside the rib and the wall in a direction perpendicular to the direction of transport of the ink ribbon, and being turned upside down. A ribbon path switching member that can be attached through the ink supply path. The ribbon path switching member has a concave portion through which the ink ribbon can be inserted. When the ribbon path switching member is mounted in the first mounting position, the ribbon path switching member comes into contact with the wall, and the recess opens above the storage chamber to allow the ribbon to switch to the recess. The ink ribbon is allowed to pass therethrough, and the recess forms the ribbon path that does not pass through the rib as the only outlet of the ink ribbon from the storage chamber, and the ribbon path switching member is attached in the second mounting position. In this case, the concave portion opens to the bottom wall side of the storage chamber, so that the ink ribbon cannot be inserted into the concave portion, and the ink ribbon is inserted between the ribbon path switching member and the wall portion. Forming a ribbon path through the rib as the sole outlet of the ink ribbon from the storage chamber; By selecting the mounting posture of the ribbon path switching member, a fabric ribbon to be passed through the ribbon path passing through the rib and a film ribbon to be passed through the ribbon path not passing through the rib can be selectively used as the ink ribbon. An ink ribbon cassette characterized by the following. 2. The connecting means according to claim 1, wherein the connecting means comprises a connecting pin protruding from a bottom wall of the storage chamber, and a through-hole formed in the ribbon path switching member and into which the connecting pin can be fitted. An ink ribbon cassette comprising: 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein
A recess closing pin is provided on a bottom wall of the storage chamber, the recess closing pin engaging with one end of the recess when the ribbon path switching member is mounted in the second mounting position. Ink ribbon cassette.